The Right Thing To Do

Chapter 15

Katya Viktor, it turned out, was the name of the Bulgarian girl Draco had gone out with after his release from Azkaban, star of the "DRACO MALFOY FINDS LOVE" article.

Katya Viktor was also the girl that Draco had been out with the night before. The Prophet had printed a photo of him kissing her, accompanied by a Skeeter piece lamenting the loss of the new wizarding power couple.

Hermione had stopped at the Daily Prophet main office before rushing to Cornerstone, grabbing up a paper and tucking it into her bag. Once she'd gotten the store open and ready – with only two minutes to spare – she pulled out the paper.

Nothing on the front page, but she flipped to the society and gossip section that Skeeter penned, and there was Draco, pushing the hair out of the Bulgarian's face, and leaning in to kiss her. The girl smiled against his lips.

Hermione frowned as the picture repeated itself. She'd caught Draco and Pansy Parkinson snogging in the hallways loads of times in 5th year, a few times in 6th. Sometimes she'd be too nervous to interrupt them, knowing that it would be two Slytherins against one Gryffindor. Sometimes she'd be just jealous enough to clear her throat. Pansy would glare at her and call her names, but Draco would turn from where he'd have Pansy pressed against a wall and catch his breath as he looked at her with icy eyes.

This picture didn't look like that. Draco pushed Katya's hair away from her eyes and leaned in slowly. It was less... hurried.

Did that mean that Draco wanted her less? Or that he liked her more?

Hermione glanced through the rest of the article, grimacing at her own name splashed throughout. Katya was a model in Bulgaria and her father was a professor at Durmstrang. She was half-blood, surprisingly. The last line:

And poor Hermione Granger. How is she taking the news?

"Not great." Hermione chuckled to herself as the first customers entered. She threw the paper in the rubbish bin.

~*~

After a very long day of pitying looks and a series of "Such a shame," it was finally quarter 'til six. Hermione leaned against the counter as the last customers bid her a good night, and enjoyed the peace for ten seconds until the door opened again.

Draco walked in. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"What do you want?"

He lifted a brow at her as he hopped up the stairs. "A book? Do you sell those here?"

She checked her timepiece. "We close in fourteen minutes. You had to come at the very end of the day?"

"Well, I didn't want any onlookers for our torrid love affair, Granger." He leaned against the counter and she turned to a stack of books so he wouldn't see her blush.

"Be quick. I still need to file all of these."

"It's on reserve."

She stopped and looked to the reserve shelf, just now noticing a bag there. She pulled it and saw another girly-fiction title. She raised her brow at him and he raised his in return. She started entering it on the ledger as he watched her.

"A reporter asked me today if you let me down easy," she said. She glanced at him. "I assume you were seen with one of your girls last night?"

"Yes, Katya. I have six more to go."

She looked up at him.

"One for every day of the week, right?" he said. She scowled at him for throwing her words back at her. "Which reminds me," he drawled, "do you have five more copies of this?" He tapped the girly book she was writing the title of.